


Laying Roots

by skerryB



Series: The Chronicles of Evie, Astrid and Manta Rae Witt [4]
Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Also tiny mention of minor character death, Domestic Fluff, Literally just 2000 domestic bliss, Other, and a little bit of spice if youre looking for it, but its implied - Freeform, with a dash of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:20:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24890710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skerryB/pseuds/skerryB
Summary: The Witt Family start a new Summer Project.
Relationships: Bloodhound/Mirage | Elliott Witt
Series: The Chronicles of Evie, Astrid and Manta Rae Witt [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1794418
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	Laying Roots

**Author's Note:**

> The real MVPs are Britt and Heather, who im pretty sure tag team edited this between rounds of Apex
> 
> Also, massive shout out to everyone that has ever contributed a thought to the Headcanons channel of Britt's discord, This whole series wouldn't exist without your comments. 
> 
> And Also Han, who sent me prompts as a bribe for me going to bed. I love you

It starts with a cardboard egg carton tucked against the wall on the kitchen counter, each little pot filled with a fistful of dirt. Elliott isn't sure how it got there, but when he asks Bloodhound about it, they only smirk, not even looking up from the book they have in their lap. 

"Perhaps you should ask Astrid."

So he does, knocks on her bedroom door and peeks his head in once he hears her call out to come in. She's sitting on her bed drawing. From where he's positioned, it looks like a sketch of Artur, who is sitting at the end of her bed, perfectly still. There's a punnet of blueberries next to where Astrid is sitting, which he deduces is her way of rewarding her latest model.

He moves to sit next to her, peer over her shoulder as she examines the drawing in front of her.

"It looks great kiddo, is it for school?"

She frowns at the drawing, moving to erase the dark mark of a wing that is slightly too large. "No," She says, looking up at him for the first time since he came into the room "It's going to be a present for Mabbie, but you can't tell them! it's a secret"

Elliott nods, holding out his pinkie for her. "I won't tell a soul, pinky promise"

She takes it, linking his pinkie with her own, before setting her artwork aside and picking up the blueberry punnet, tossing one to Artur, which he catches mid air, before offering it up to her father.

"So," he says, as he takes one of the offered blueberries. "Mabbie said I should ask you about the egg carton full of dirt on the kitchen counter. What's going on there?"

She chuckles, a sweet sound that Elliott relishes in, knowing that she's comfortable enough to laugh at him. "Seeds.. Mabbie said that we could start a vegetable garden if I can grow them in the carton first. They said it was my job to make sure they germ- garman- Gernimate"

"Germinate?"

"Yeah!" she exclaims "That one. Or !"

"And you're going to grow vegetables?"

She nods, pushing herself off her bed and pulling at his hand. "I'll show you."

And with that, he's being dragged from the room by his hand, down the staircase that separates the upstairs bedrooms to the rest of the house, all the while Astrid is gushing excitedly about the plants Bloodhound had promised her.

"Right now the one in the kitchen are tomato seeds, but there's another one in the living room that will have Potatoes in it, and Mabbie says that if I'm good we can look at growing a fruit tree, with apples and oranges. And they said we could have a sunflower row, and lavender, for the bees Papa."

While she was talking, she had pulled Elliott to the back patio that overlooked the garden, which right now, he notes to himself, desperately needs to be mowed.

Or maybe not, considering the way that Astrid is pointing to various parts of the garden and explaining what plants they will grow in the planter boxes.

"Wait, what planter boxes?"

"The ones Mabbie said they were going to build."

At this, Elliott turns to look at Bloodhound, who is hiding their face behind their book and trying to sink into the space between the couch cushions. It's only now that he realises they're reading an old, but familiar gardening book, one of his mother's that he couldn't bear parting with when they had had to clear out her possessions.

"So when did you two decide this?" He asked Astrid, not breaking eye contact with his spouse. 

"Yesterday, when you took Rae to Soccer Practice and Evie was at the science club. Didn't Mabbie tell you about it?"

Elliott let out a breath of air, running a hand across his face. "No, my little star, they didn't"  
\----

"I thought it would be a nice project for the summer" Hound had justified later, after crawling into bed next to Elliott. Evelyn's gardening book had come with them, and now sat on the bedside table, various scraps of paper tucked into different pages.

"Nah,I get it" Elliott replied, arm slinking across them to rest at the tattoo that sits just below their collarbone. "I just wish that you had told me about it beforehand" 

"I'm sorry Eskan" is the reply they give, kissing at his neck, right at the spot they know he likes. The full body shudder he gives in response lets them know they have hit their mark. "The last thing I want is you feeling left out."

Elliott laughs in reply, threading his other hand through their hair as he speaks. "I get it, just.. no beehive in the yard okay? Since Rae she might be allergic." That had been a fun discovery. He and Bloodhound had been away, their first vacation without the kids since they had first adopted Evie almost a decade and a half ago. They hadn't even checked into their flight before they had gotten a frantic call from Gibraltar, saying that Rae had gone into shock after being stung by one of Pathfinders honeybees. 

"Of course." They responded, smiling up at him. "You know, we never did get to go on that vacation" 

Elliott was above them, weight resting on his elbow as his other hand caressed their tattoo, before trailing down to trace a numb scar on their chest. "I know Hound, its a real shame, considering all the things I had planned for that weekend" 

"Well," They smirk up at him. "Perhaps you can show me now"

Elliott grins in reply, allowing himself to be pulled down into a kiss, relishing in the way their fingers tightened in his hair. 

\---

Elliott, if asked before he had had kids, would say that his favourite season was Autumn. He loved the chill to the air that wasn't quite unbearably cold, and the crunch of the leaves underneath his shoes 

Now, however, that answer had changed to summer. Ever since he had retired from the games and picked up lecturing at the college, he had, with the exception of the occasional symposium conference, the entire summer free with his three lovely girls,to do whatever they wanted together as a family

Which, right now, included a trip to the local hardware store. Elliott was pushing one cart filled with wood planks, which were held down by a five year old Rae, who had 'won' the 'privilege' of sitting inside the trolley after running off for the fourth time since the family had entered the store. Astrid was carrying the old Gardening book, and was currently squatting on the ground next to Bloodhound, the two of them examining the roots of one of the apple tree saplings on display in the nursery section. The sight alone was enough to make Elliott smile. 

Evie stood beside him, leaning on the handle of the second cart, which contained, according to her scientific estimate, approximately twenty million plants. 

"You sure these are going to fit in the car, Papa? 

"Baby girl, I don't even think all of this will fit in the garden" He replies, earning a playful glare from Bloodhound, who, with both hands on their knees, pushes themselves upright. "The roots of this one are already showing signs of rot, Perhaps we will have to try the markets on Sunday."

"If we do," Evie pipes up suddenly "Can we stop by the bakery stall for cinnamon swirls?"

\---  
When they arrived at the market, Evie had taken Rae and made a beeline for the bakery stall, leaving Elliott to stand back and watch as Bloodhound and Astrid took turns interrogating the nurseryman about his use of pesticides in the germination stage of growing.

Apparently satisfied with his answers, Bloodhound paid for the sapling, no larger than a couple feet tall, which they carried at the hip as though it was their child. Considering the effort they'd put in, Elliott notes, it may as well be. 

They find Evie at the bakery stall, head thrown back in laughter at something the teenage vendor had said. Elliott paused, almost causing Astrid to crash into him, and turned towards her and Bloodhound.  
"Why don't you go put that in the car, I'll let Evie know it's time to go"

Bloodhound peers over his shoulder, catches sight of Evie and the other girl behind the counter, before grinning at Elliott and nodding. 

"Wonderful idea Elskan, Astrid, why don't you take papa's keys so you can get the door for me?"

Astrid nods, tucking the gardening book under her arm before taking the keys Elliott held out for her. Bloodhound stretches to kiss Elliott on the cheek.  
"Go easy on her, yes?" they whisper, before moving to walk towards the car. Elliott only nods, before turning to walk towards the bakery stall.

He watches the pair of them for a moment before he approaches. Watches the way that the teenage vendor moves her hands as she talks, while Evie nods eagerly. Paper bags, which Elliott assumes contains cinnamon swirls, sit forgotten on the fold out table, except for the one that Rae is clutching in her hands while she sits on the table, legs swinging rhythmically.

As he approaches, he watches the baker notice him, cutting off her conversation with Evie to greet him like a customer. At this distance, he can read her name tag, a handwritten note reading 'Julia' in a loose script. Both she and Elliott go to speak, but it's Evie that gets the first word in.

"Hey Papa, sorry about the wait, did they find the...uh.. good roots?"

He hears Julia laugh, a chiming laugh that he can see causes a pink to dust his own daughter's cheeks

Elliott nods, before turning to Julia.

"I gotta say, you must sell the best cinnamon swirls in the world, considering how Evie here always insists on getting one every time we come here. Sometimes, the look on her face when she comes back and tells us they sold out? Breaks a father's heart. I'm Elliott by the way" He says, holding out his hand for a handshake.

"Julia." She replies, shaking his hand with a smile. "That's weird you say that though, our Cinnamon swirls hardly ever sell out. They're not that popular."

"Must not be them then" He says, glancing towards Evie, whose cheeks have gone from a light pink to a deep crimson. "Or, maybe they only sell out when you're not working, but that would be a wild coincidence, wouldn't it Evie? Anyway, we should probably get going, Hound and Astrid might start a riot if they don't get to put that tree in the ground soon."  
He pauses, to lift a cinnamon and cream cheese covered Rae into his arms.  
"It was nice meeting you Julia, I hope you're working next time we stop by"

"You too Mr Witt, Good luck with that tree." She replies, handing the bags over to Evie, as well as a handful of napkins, which Evie tucks into her pockets before jogging to catch up to her father.

"She seems nice" Elliott muses as they reach the car, Bloodhound and Astrid already loaded up and waiting for them. "You should invite her around for dinner some time"

"You're literally the worst, Papa. The actual worst."

Elliott only laughs in reply.  
\---  
When Astrid and Bloodhound had outlined their plans for the garden, one thing they had failed to mention the manual labour Elliott would be roped into doing. He and Hound had already built the eight raised garden beds, and dug dozens of holes for various fruits, vegetables and plants.

He's halfway through building a framework on the fence out of spare wires, for the tomatoes to climb up, when he feels Bloodhound plop a wide brimmed sun hat on his head. On the patio,he can hear Evie laugh in response, followed by the sound of her camera going off. 

"You're lucky I love you," he mutters to Bloodhound, who has taken to rubbing his shoulder while he worked. 

"Yes. I am truly blessed by the Alfather". They reply. The conviction in their voice, telling him much they truly believe Elliott is sent from the gods themselves, is enough to make Elliott blink away dampness in his eyes as he ties the last of the framework to the garden fence, and turns to examine their work.

While he had been working on the tomato frame, Bloodhound and Astrid had planted all of the remaining plants. The raised garden beds had neat lines of vegetables, some bought from the store, but most raised from Astrid's carton seedlings. Each plant was labelled with their own wooden sign that Astrid had painted, detailing the plants name, and care instructions. The soil next to the patio had the sprouts of sunflowers, already showing signs of healthy stems poking through the upturned soil. Evie's one request for the project was a collection of local wildflowers, some of which already blooming in the midday sun. a large round pot sat in the centre of the pathway in this area, already close to overflowing with vibrant green herbs. a collection of fruit trees stood to the side. Elliott knew, as they grew taller, they would provide shade to the patch of grass that Rae and Artur were playing on. In the centre of the garden, at the junction where all the pathways met, was the apple tree.


End file.
